Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk expected to miss 4 to 6 weeks with right MCL sprain

Kings guard Malik Monk could miss the rest of the season after injuring his knee in Friday’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.

Monk is expected to miss four to six weeks with a right MCL sprain. The first round of the NBA playoffs will begin April 20, three weeks from now, with conference semifinals set to begin May 6-7.

The Kings were eighth in the Western Conference going into Sunday’s game against the Utah Jazz, two games behind the Mavericks for the No. 6 seed and a half-game behind the Phoenix Suns for seventh. The top six teams will earn automatic playoff berths. The next four will have to fight their way in through the play-in tournament.

The loss of Monk comes as a huge blow to a Kings team that is already missing guard Kevin Huerter (shoulder) and forwards Trey Lyles (knee) and Sasha Vezenkov (ankle). Vezenkov and Lyles could be back soon, but Huerter’s agent, Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports and Entertainment, told The Sacramento Bee that Huerter will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum.

Monk was injured in the first quarter of Friday’s 107-103 loss to the Mavericks. He had just entered the game midway through the first period when the injury occurred.

Monk was trying to contest a driving layup attempt by Luka Doncic when their legs got tangled up. Doncic tumbled to the floor with much of his body weight coming down on Monk’s right leg.

After being helped to his feet, Monk walked off the floor under his own power and headed straight to the locker room for treatment from the team’s medical staff. A short time later, the Kings announced Monk would not return due to a right knee injury.

“I didn’t see the injury so I can’t comment on the injury,” Kings coach Mike Brown said following Friday’s game. “... I just know, hey, we’ve got to have the next man step up. Nobody’s going to fill Malik’s shoes, so we just have to do it by committee.”

Monk, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, has emerged as a leading Sixth Man of the Year candidate in his second season with the Kings. He is averaging career highs of 15.6 points and 5.2 assists while shooting 44.3% from the field and 35.1% from 3-point range.

“It’s definitely big what he does for us, playmaking and scoring coming off the bench,” said Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox, Monk’s childhood friend and former Kentucky teammate. “That’s a big blow. ... We’re hoping for the best, but if he is out for some time, we have nine games left — there’s no looking in the mirror now.”